Key Leaders Part II: A little more modern, a little more World AP, a little more Global II

Suleiman the Magnificent Ottoman Empire Controlled southeastern Europe, the largest Ottoman Empire. Known as the lawgiver for rebuilding legal system

Giuseppe Garibaldi Italy Led Italian troops to Sicily, fought with the red shirts and conquered Sicily. Responsible for helping with the reunification of Italy.

Otto von Bismarck Germany Prime Minister of Prussia and unified Germany with the policy of blood and iron.

Mao Zedong China Communist leader, who ruled China, was responsible for the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Both killed millions of Chinese people

Nelson Mandela South Africa Ended apartheid in South Africa, first black president of South Africa

Mikhail Gorbachev Russia Russian leader who is responsible for the collapse of Russia. Used policies like glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic reforms).

Deng Xiaoping China Leader after Moa Zedong, tried to put elements of capitalism into Chinese economy. Tiananmen Square massacre

Sun Yat-Sen China First democratic leader of China, three principles, led the Chinese Revolution in 1911.

Jose de San Martin South America, Argentina Leader of the struggle for independence from Spain of the southern nations of South America. With Simón Bolívar in the north, San Martín is seen as one of the Liberators of Argentina, Chile and Peru

Simon Bolivar Venezuela Credited with leading the fight for independence in what are now the countries of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia, he is revered as a hero.

Jomo Kenyatta Kenya Major force in the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya against the British. He is considered the founding father of the Kenyan Nation.

Fidel Castro Cuba Led the Cuban Revolution, brought communism to Cuba during the Cold War

Adolph Hitler Germany German leader, brought Germany out of Great Depression. Also responsible for starting WWII and the Holocaust

Chiang Kai-Shek China Took over as leader after Sun Yat-Sen died. Ruled China until the Communist takeover. Retreated to Taiwan and governed from there, The Republic of China until 1975

Vladimir Lenin Russia Led the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. Helped build communism in Russia. Created the NEP to reform and rebuild the Russian economy after WWI

Joseph Stalin Russia New leader after Lenin’s death. Rebuilt Russia into a steel producing machine. Industry rose under his five-year-plans, and agriculture improved under collectivization. Millions of people died under his harsh totalitarian rule but he turned Russia into a world power.

Theodor Herzl Jewish Nationalist Leader Started the call for Zionism, the call for a Jewish home state in Palestine. Jews finally received this in 1948

Mohandas Gandhi India Fought for Indian independence, protested using non-violence. Also protested against British rule. Great Salt March, and the Quit India campaign helped win support. Indian won independence in 1947.

Jawaharlal Nehru India Helped Indian independence movement, the first Prime Minister of independent India 1947-1964

Napoleon France Overthrows the French directory during the French Revolution. Names himself emperor in 1804. Makes the Napoleonic Code which makes all men equal under the law. The code is still used in most gov’t laws. Made the French Empire the largest it ever was.

Toussaint L’Ouverture Haiti One of the driving forces in the Haitian Revolution. He fought against the French to fight for independence. Helped by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti free in 1804

Ho Chi Minh Vietnam He is most famous for establishing communist control in part of Vietnam. Fought in Vietnam War with the US

Benito Mussolini Italy First Fascist leader of Italy. Believed in the state above the individual. Helped improve Italy’s standing in the world by expansion. Teamed up with Hitler and lost WWII.

Lech Walesa Poland Co-founded Solidarity, the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, served as President of Poland from 1990 to 1995. Helped free Poland from communism and rebuild its economy

Maximilien Robespierre France Key individual in the French Revolution. Most known for the Reign of Terror 1793-1794, where 40,000 people were killed including King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette

Kwame Nkrumah Ghana Named First president of Ghana after fighting for independence from Britain in the 40’s and 50’s. Considered an influential African Nationalist Leader

Boris Yeltsin Russia Took over as president after the fall of Russia. Tried to help rebuild Russia to a direction of greater political liberty over authoritarian constraints; market over state control...society over state; peace

Hernán Cortes Spain Spanish conquistador that conquered Mexico and the Aztecs. Helped expand Spanish empire into the new world

Francisco Pizzaro Spain Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Peru, and conquered the Incan Empire. Helped expand Spanish empire into the new world

Emiliano Zapata Mexico One of the leaders during the Mexican Revolution in 1910 “The Attila of the South’.

Pancho Villa Mexico One of the leaders during the Mexican Revolution in 1910

Porfirio Diaz Mexico Corrupt president of Mexico who took land from peasants. His rule started the Mexican Revolution

Reza Khan Iran Westernized Iran, created a strong policy of industrialization

Muhammad Ali Egypt Political and economic reforms, brought in western ideas

Mustafa Kemal Turkey Father of the Turks, first modern president of Turkey. He westernized Turkey

Pol Pot Cambodia Responsible for the Khmer Rouge, this was the killing of Cambodians in 1976-1979. He tried to create a classless society based on communism

Slobodan Milosevic Serbia, Yugoslavia Responsible for the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Kosovo

Winston Churchill Great Britain Prime Minister during WWII that helped defeat Adolf Hitler

Johan Gutenberg Germany Invented the Printing press